The present invention generally relates to furniture construction, and it is specifically directed to a structural design for load-bearing, slatted furniture which renders furniture articles having unique and pure aesthetic appearance and superior structural stability, and which lends itself to remarkably highly efficient raw material utilization in the furniture fabrication process.
The prior art is replete with designs for furniture. More pertinently, the prior art even includes multiple references that teach structural designs in which a multitude of planar pieces of material (hereinafter, to be generally referred to as “slats”) are arranged in spaced, vertical planes and parallel relation to each other to form an aesthetic, yet functional (i.e., load-bearing), furniture item. Invariably, these designs for slatted furniture incorporate either a contiguous support frame to which the load-contacting slats are attached, or they include at least one elongate connector element (e.g., rod, dowel, ribs, etc.) which traverses all of the slats and holds them together in a support posture.
One example of the latter design is found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,067,615 to Gehry. Gehry discloses a furniture article formed of a plurality of slats specifically made of corrugated cardboard. The slats are disposed in parallel, vertical planes and can be either glued together at their faces or held in spaced relation by way of inserting glue-coated stringers transversely through corresponding slots formed within the slats. Of course, it should be anticipated that, in order to support the considerable weight of a human being of average or greater size, cardboard slats would necessarily have to be stacked directly together or at least have extremely narrow interstitial spaces.
in another example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,235,473 to Aginar discloses a slatted furniture construction in which the upper edges of a plurality of uniformly thick slats are shaped to compositely form a functional surface. The slats are joined together by “interconnecting means” which pass through axially aligned holes in the slats, as well as a plurality of spacing means that combine to hold the slats in spaced, face-to-face relation. It is suggested that the interconnecting means could be a dowel that is fixedly locked against the slats by way of friction, adhesive or conventional fasteners (e.g., nails, screws, etc.), and it is described that at least one, and preferably more than one, of the spacer means should be situated between every two adjacent slats.
In yet another example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,322,109 to Thebaud discloses a foldable chair formed by two separate groups of elongate slats that, it is suggested, are to be made of rigid material such as hardwood, plywood, plastic or metal. A rod which passes through axially aligned holes residing in both group's slats acts as a folding hinge and allows the chair to form an X shape, as seen from a side view, when in unfolded condition. Tension rods with axes parallel to the slat planes' are employed to hold that “X” in place, and Thebaud explicitly suggests that these rods be made of steel or like material because of the great tensile forces that act upon them when a person is sitting on the chair. The two upper extensions of the “X” provide cantilevered seat and backrest support and, therefore, must be designed to withstand considerable shearing and other forces that they will be subjected to. The slats within each grouping are further held in spaced, parallel relation by both at least one transverse rod passing through holes near the end(s) of each slat and spacers disposed between each adjacent slat.
There are some typical characteristics of these and other slatted furniture constructions of the prior art. As was previously mentioned and is true of all the above described examples, incorporated into the design is at least one transverse connector element that continuously extends through the entire lateral span of longitudinally-oriented, parallel-planed slat pieces whose edges define functional surfaces that directly contact a supported load (e.g., a person) and the floor. In virtually every case that the present inventor is aware of, a transverse connector element(s) is required in order to maintain the upright attitude of vertical slats. Furthermore, in some cases like Aginar and Thebaud, continuous transverse connector elements are also essential aspects of the furniture item's load support capability. Consequently, and because artistic considerations are often considered paramount in slatted furniture constructions, in the art of slatted furniture design, there exists a design tension between achieving an acceptable balance of load support capacity and lightness, on one hand, and satisfying more aesthetic concerns such as preserving constituent material homogeneity or having slat orientation diversity on the other hand.
For instance, strength requirements for transverse connector elements essential to the load support structure may necessitate that those elements be fabricated of material different from that which is preferred for the slats (examples: steel transverse rods combined with plywood slats; visible metal fasteners used to secure non-metal transverse elements to like material slats). Furthermore, the mere visible presence of elongate connector elements render unsightly, if not impractical, furniture designs featuring slats arranged non-parallel to each other. That is because non-parallel slats may not be traversed by and connected to the transverse connector (s), but rather, would be oriented in planes parallel thereto and, therefore, might necessitate the inclusion of additional connector elements which extend through the non-parallel slats in order to give them stability.
Consequently, the present inventor appreciates a need for anew construction for slatted furniture that, among a plethora of other benefits, both lends itself to creating functional furniture items that do not require elongate, structurally supportive connector elements which extend continuously through all of the very slats compositely defining their functional surfaces and that forms a unique design which is apparent from a plan or perspective viewing. The present invention substantially fulfills this need.